Books in the The Biblical Resource Series series

One of the most important contributions to our understanding of the psalms, The Psalms in Israel's Worship by Sigmund Mowinckel has largely provided the framework and suppositions of modern Psalms study. Fully revised from the original Norwegian edition and now featuring a substantial new foreword by James Crenshaw, this classic work (two volumes in one) argues that the psalms originated in actual temple worship and were used regularly to add drama to Israel's adoration of Yahweh.Throughout this fascinating work, Mowinckel carefully explores the relationship of the various psalm types to the congregation's devotional life, including hymns of praise from Israel's national festivals, psalms of lamentation and penitence, and personal or private psalms of thanksgiving. Other topics include the psalms' relationship to prophecy and wisdom, their composition and collection, their style and performance, and the technical terminology involved in Psalms study.

Understanding of biblical poetry is enhanced by the study of its structure. In this book Adele Berlin analyzes parallelism, a major feature of Hebrew poetry, from a linguistic perspective. This new edition of Berlin??'s study features an additional chapter, ?The Range of Biblical Metaphors in Smikhut, ? by late Russian linguist Lida Knorina. Berlin calls this addition ?innovative and instructive to those who value the linguistic analysis of poetry.? It is a fitting coda to Berlin's adept analysis.